


One Stone

by Acernusaurus



Series: Jail Birds [4]
Category: Arrow (TV 2012), Arrowverse/DCTV, The Flash (TV 2014)
Genre: AU, Canon-Typical Violence, Earth-2, F/F, First Meetings, Kidnapping, Nyssara, Police, Siblings, The League of Assassins (DCU), bit o' fluff
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-08-18
Updated: 2019-08-18
Packaged: 2020-08-19 11:41:37
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 18
Words: 20,365
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/20209147
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Acernusaurus/pseuds/Acernusaurus
Summary: Earth TwoBeat cop Sara Lance has been reunited with her long-lost criminal sister.Black Siren has been released from her prison and is on parole after assisting on a Very Special Secret Mission (her words).When Star City gets a sudden influx of assassins, Sara and her team must deal with protecting her city and managing her sister's special version of "helping".Set in the Jail Birds universe but hopefully works as a stand-alone. The AU diverged right before Flashpoint with some pieces of later canon that fit.





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> Hello Friends! Guess who missed a certain fictional jerk and can't do things halfway. [It's me.] Always and forever tell me if I missed any important tags, I was a bit stumped for them. And I am my only editor so all the mistakes are mine. Also, me and grammar are having a fight.
> 
> The characters don't belong to me. Except Jeff.

Sara climbed the last step to the clocktower slowly, sweeping the shadowy room with her pistol before stepping through the doorless frame. There were no signs of life among the fluttering plastic construction sheets but her metadetector told her that she wasn't really alone.

"I didn't rob that bank," a voice called out from the rafters.

"Then how do you know about it?" Sara changed the angle of her aim though she had not been able to pinpoint the source of the sound in the large space.

"Don't insult my intelligence, kid." There was a rustle of plastic sheeting but it echoed through the room and was impossible to distinguish from the rest of the gentle rustling. "Or my craftsmanship. If I had done it I would have redecorated more than just the windows."

"I am going to need a better alibi than that." Sara reached the center of the room and turned a circle trying to spot any movement above her.

"Ask Robert. He spent the night chasing me through the old subway tunnels. It completely ruined my boots."

Sara rolled her eyes and holstered her weapon. "He said you dropped a pile of rocks on him so I think you two are even. Come down, I'll get the Thai out of the car."

When Sara returned, food in hand, she found her sister sitting at a table that hadn't been there before. It even had a tablecloth, though it was just a sheet of plastic. She always saw it as an odd bit of civility from the wanted criminal who was currently roosting in the rafters of an old abandoned clocktower.

* * *

It had been three months since Dinah Laurel Lance had returned home. After she vanished off the face of the Earth, this Earth at least, Sara had hardly expected to ever see her sister again. She definitely didn't expect to see her on a sunny Star City street in the middle of the day. Sara was chasing possibly the world's least intelligent purse snatcher when a shadow had separated from a nearby alley and tripped the fool. Sara hadn't even looked up until she had the perp cuffed, which was a good thing since her good Samaritan was The Black Siren. Sara had been one of the few people to recognize her sister during Zoom's rampage so it was jarring to see her dressed like a normal person. There was no hint of the dramatic black ensemble that made the news stations and wanted posters 

Surprise thankfully doesn't distract a cop in the Glades that wants to stay alive. Sara was able to draw her weapon with the hand not holding her perp down and point it at the smirking metahuman.

Zoom's right hand didn't blink but she did raise her own hands, if mockingly, in response, "I should have made a bet with you about your response. I could have won a pretty penny."

"I would clearly win that bet" Sara said, getting to her feet.

"Not you you, other you." Black Siren said unhelpfully. She lowered her arms and crossed them despite the gun still pointed at her. "This is actually earlier than I planned for and I don't have time to chat now. If you meet me back here tomorrow we can catch up. It's your day off right?"

"Yeah, that isn't going to happen."

Black Siren shrugged, "Suit yourself. I really should have bet you. And your catch is about to roll into traffic." She pointed.

Sara turned. Sure enough, the numbskull had rolled away when she had stood up and was halfway into the road. By the time she had saved the kid's life Black Siren had vanished.

Sara couldn't go to her squad or her vigilante friends for backup in this situation. Both had already reprimanded her multiple times for her obsession with her sister's criminal alter ego. Captain Pike said it was "Central City's problem" and Robert and his team had had enough to deal with at the time. And it was Central City's problem. Sara had no choice but to make the rendezvous alone if at all.

Sara suited up in body armor, whatever meta-dampeners she could find on short notice, and a set of earplugs. Luckily Laurel truly did just want to talk. And after she finally managed to convince Sara to remove her earplugs her story was so unbelievable that, even if Sara didn't know all of her sister's tells, she would be inclined to believe it.

She still did her due diligence anyway. Made some calls. Harrison Wells himself confirmed that an alternate universe time traveling _Captain_ Sara Lance had released Black Siren from a secret prison on another Earth for good deeds done on _another_ another Earth. And that Captain Lance had sent Laurel Lance to Officer Lance to manage her parole. Sara was glad to to hear that Laurel wasn't lying but she wished that her time-traveling doppelganger had discussed this with her first. Dr. Wells did helpfully remind Sara that Black Siren was still technically a fugitive and that Sara could arrest her if she wished to.

She hasn't. Yet.

* * *

"So what did you do to catch Robert's attention?" Sara asked, passing Laurel a container of noodles.

"He caught me having a beer with Ollie."

Sara sighed, "You can't expect him to keep pretending you aren't in town if you are going to sneak onto the Queen memorial."

Laurel just shrugged and stuffed some noodles straight from the container into her mouth. "He let me pour Ollie's beer out for him and gave me a 5 minute head start. I just didn't realize how fast the old man is," she said through a mouthful.

"If you stole my beers, Oliver wouldn't thank you. He hated my brand," Sara added. "You know I am not bailing you out if you get yourself caught."

Laurel waved a dismissive hand. "Robert won't send me to prison unless you tell him to. Without your arrangement he would be there himself."

"It isn't my arrangement. He works for the city, that I also work for. He and I can't, and won't, use that to protect you." Laurel just waved Sara's concerns away again.

After they had finished eating and cleaned up Sara asked the question she always did. "What are your plans for tomorrow?" In the hope that Laurel will let Sara know more about her day to day (hopefully crime free) life.

But Laurel only gave the answer she always did. "Plotting to take over the world." It still wasn't any funnier than the first time but it hadn't led to anything so Sara could only glare and leave. It wasn't an ideal situation but it hadn't blown up in her face. Yet.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> To those who have read the previous stories, Black Siren will be going by Laurel here because that is what her family called her.


	2. Chapter 2

Sara didn't visit her sister every day. Her job kept her busy and Laurel did...something to keep herself occupied. It was four weeks but only six dinner's later when Sara arrived at the clocktower with a pizza to find their table occupied by a brightly colored sheet of cardboard.

"Did you steal Candyland from a baby?" she asked the figure shuffling cards across the table.

"I borrowed it," Laurel said. "I'll bring it back."

Sara set the pizza on the sliver of available table space and sat in her usual seat. "Is this a new cry for help or something?"

"If I am not allowed to conquer the world than I am at least going to conquer a sugary kingdom. Now pick a piece and stop questioning it."

It seemed like a healthy step forward so Sara grabbed a slice of pizza and did as she was told. They exchanged lead for a few rounds but Sara eventually pulled ahead around the Lollipop Woods. She was cheering herself with another slice of pizza when an arrow sprouted out of the Gumdrop Mountains.

Sara was confused enough that she for a rare moment she almost didn't react. She hadn't been this close to the wrong side of an arrow shot since the Dark Archer was killed and she wasn't sure what Robert was playing at.

Black Siren wasn't so complacent and dragged Sara under the table before Sara could turn to ask Robert herself.

"I do not miss," a woman's voice came from the shadows. "That was not an accident."

"Damnit Sara," Laurel hissed. "Can you get your girlfriend to stop interrupting game night."

"None of my girlfriends have ever shot arrows at me," Sara said indignantly, then paused in her struggle to get her weapon out of her boot holster. "Maybe one but that definitely isn't her."

"We have a message for your Green Arrow," the voice continued. "He must meet with us."

"You are clearly not from around here because Green Arrow doesn't take orders," Sara called back. She was getting very irritated that people were constantly thinking that she was Green Arrow's secretary. Though she had to be grateful that these ones at least hadn't tried to kidnap her. Those were the most annoying.

"Robert Queen will listen to you Sara Lance. Tell him the Magician has returned. We will be back in two hours."

"I don't do orders either!"

"They're gone," Laurel said dryly, peaking over the table. "And this place is burned. Thanks for letting assassins follow you to my living room."

"Assassins?" Sara asked with a groan.

Laurel expression looked torn between amusement and exasperation. "You should probably go fetch Mr. Green Arrow. I have to go find some tape to fix this." She frowned as she pulled the arrow out of the Gumdrops and handed it to Sara. "And find a new house."

"Like you don't have 10 other hideouts already lined up. Watch out if they come back early," Sara said. She scanned the room once more, looking for nonexistent evidence of their visitor, and then headed to her car.

* * *

Sara drove in the wrong direction for a bit before she checked the clock and realized that she wouldn't be able to find Robert at home. She had to turn around and head back into the heart of the Glades. To the clinic that Robert had set up not long after returning home. Open 24/7 and chock-full of medical supplies, it was the perfect secret base of operations for a local crime fighter.

As luck would have it, a friendly face entered the clinic lobby at the same time she did. Sara still could not get over how grown up the white coat made Tommy Merlyn look, even if it was accompanied by a brightly colored name tag that read 'Dr. Tommy' and no less than three animal stickers.

"What's up, Doc? I'm here to see the boss."

Tommy barely looked up from his paperwork to smile in greeting. "No can do Tweety Bird. He's got meetings all night." Meaning that they were anticipating a busy night on the streets.

"It's work related, Tommy." That got him to look up. She poked the tip of the arrow out from up her jacket sleeve where she had hidden it.

"You can wait in his office if you like," Tommy said after glancing around the mostly empty lobby. "I don't think he has started yet. I'll let him know you're here."

"Thanks Doc," she said. Tommy led her to Robert's office to unlock it and let her in, locking it again behind her. It was a windowless room with a bookcase covering one wall and two other doors, one leading to a conference room and the other to outside. Sara went to the bookcase and waited until she heard the familiar buzz. The shelves slid open to reveal an elevator.

The police and at least one doomed criminal organization had searched the clinic multiple times and never managed to open this hilariously obvious secret door. Even after it was revealed that Robert Queen was the Green Arrow he had misdirected enough times that the only thing anyone was sure about his headquarters was that it was nowhere near the Queen Central Glades Health Clinic.

In the room below, Sara found Robert dressed to go out with his mask already on. He was finishing up pulling on his gloves so she had caught him just in time. There was a chair at the computer banks spinning as if it had recently been vacated.

"Do I ever get to meet your assistant?" Sara asked, momentarily distracted.

"They are a coworker, not an assistant," he said patiently. "Thea hasn't even been introduced and I'd rather keep them off the radar as long as possible, even though I trust you guys. What's up, kiddo."

Sara pulled the arrow out of her sleeve and passed it to him for examination. "Someone, Laurel said it was an assassin, 'gave' that to me tonight. Along with a message to give to you."

Robert's face was harder to read in his mask but he gestured for her to go on.

"They want you to meet with them. Soon. Because the Magician is back?" Sara hadn't known what to expect but it wasn't the frightening stillness that washed over Robert. It was a predatory thing that hadn't existed in the Robert who had taken her is as a child. A tension that was contagious. You couldn't help but go still yourself, to try to notice the danger that he had sensed.

"Tell Tommy to call Dr. Hamilton in, get Thea from work, and take her home." Robert turned to grab his bow.

"Tommy isn't just going to leave work," Sara protested.

Robert turned back, "Sara, this is a League of Assassin's arrow. The League had a member known as the Magician but that member's real name was Malcolm Merlyn."

Sara absorbed that. "I'll tell Tommy and meet you at my car."


	3. Chapter 3

It took too long to get back to Laurel's and they were very close to their deadline when they arrived. They entered the clocktower much like Sara had a few weeks before after the bank robbery. Though Robert made her keep her weapon holstered this time ("No reason to antagonize them.").

The first thing they saw was Black Siren sitting in her chair. But the table and the game were gone. Behind her stood two hooded figures. In front of her there was one more, lying prone at her feet.

At the sight, Sara ignored Robert's request and drew her gun. Green Arrow wasn't far behind her with an arrow nocked and drawn.

"You only got one?" Sara asked her sister.

"Boss Lady did that." Laurel said. She gestured vaguely to her right. "I do still have my parole to think about."

"My associate became a tad...overexcited." The voice from before came from the shadows off to Sara's left and another figure appeared. "He believed your sister was unnecessary. I assure you I do not agree."

"And yet you still took her hostage?" Robert asked.

"Mr. Queen, I didn't know that you cared," Laurel said.

"She is free to go."

"Nyssa...," one of the figures behind Laurel started saying in a muffled growl.

"We are not here to fight, Al Sahim," Nyssa interrupted. "Do you plan to challenge my orders as well." The man ducked his head in clear deference.

Sara and Robert both tentatively lowered their weapons. Laurel lounged a little more in her chair.

"So...Nyssa was it? What did you mean about Merlyn?" Robert asked.

Nyssa's expression twitched at his familiarity and Al Sahim shifted irritably. But she began to explain anyway. Apparently Malcolm Merlyn had managed to not die after Robert kept him from destroying the Glades and stabbed an arrow through him. Instead, he went into hiding. Nyssa was vague on many details but Robert didn't question it so Sara followed his lead. Apparently the League had been tracking Merlyn for a while and they had some reason to believe that he was on his way to Star City. The currently theory was that Merlyn was coming for the only two things he had left in the world. Sara didn't know what the second thing was but she was glad they had warned Tommy.

"We are here to ask your permission, Robert Queen, to track him when he reaches your city."

Robert had listened with a silent and stoic mask through the whole explanation. "Since you're asking permission I assume you are aware of the arrangement with the city that my team operates under." Nyssa nodded. "Then you know you have to abide by it as well if you plan to work with me. And you will be working with me or not at all."

Nyssa didn't seem happy about it but she also did not hesitate to agree. Sara knew that Robert would give the group the Arrangement's spiel so she observed the other strangers and considered the ways she could go about spinning this for her department when the time came. As Nyssa and Robert hashed out the details, Laurel prowled around to Sara's side. "You should ask her out," Laurel whispered conspiratorially.

Sara looked at her sister incredulously. "I am not asking the scary assassin out, Laurel. And you assume I am even single?"

"You are depressingly single. I have almost caught you a cat. You and her would be great together. And she's hot." Both Nyssa and Robert had lowered their hoods sometime during the discussion.

Sara rolled her eyes. "Her hotness isn't in question. She is a hired killer."

"She's much better looking than that politician who went crazy."

"I don't even know how you found out about Sebastian. That was years ago and we had dinner one time. You need to stop stalking me."

"Says the girl with the Black Siren scrapbook."

Sara had no retort to that considering her evidence collection could have probably filled multiple scrapbooks. She was grateful when the bosses finally finished their discussion. Nyssa confirmed that they would abide by the vigilante bylaws and keep Robert in the loop while they waited for Merlyn to show his face.

* * *

"Sara," Robert said, as the assassins faded into the shadows. "I want you to come stay at the manor until this blows over." He held up a hand at her expected protest. "I don't expect you to stop going to work or living your life. But you were key to stopping the Undertaking and we will all be safer together." He then surprised both of them by turning to Laurel and saying, "You too."

"Merlyn's got nothing against me," Laurel scoffed.

"But you're here to protect your sister aren't you? Help me protect her."

Sara didn't know what that meant, since Laurel was clearly here to annoy her. "I don't need protection," she protested. Laurel remained uncharacteristically silent.

"Just...think about it," Robert ceded. "It's an open invitation and we won't chase you off the property anymore." He nodded to them both and left. He still had a patrol to do.

Laurel watched him go with a thoughtful look. But Sara could tell that Laurel wouldn't be coming with her to the manor that night. So she did something surprising to them both and gave her sister the first hug since they were kids. Black Siren froze but didn't try to escape like Sara half expected her to.

"This could be serious business. Don't get dead," Sara said, trying to dispel the awkwardness of the moment as she pulled away.

It worked, partially. "I'm not the one in danger of that," Laurel said snidely. But the thoughtful look was still there.

Sara stopped by her apartment first to pick up some things before heading off to the Queen Manor.


	4. Chapter 4

Sara has had a room at Queen Manor since the day her mom and sister left. It was intended to be a temporary solution. When her dad had died and her mom had gotten a new job, Laurel had needed the change bur Sara had refused to leave Star City. She used the fact that it was the middle of the school year as her excuse and The Queens had generously offered her a place to stay until she could join her remaining family in Central City. Somehow Sara had delayed the move indefinitely.

When Sara got to the house she found the rest of the Queen-adjacent family in the drawing room. Walter had his glasses on and was going through a stack of paperwork with a sleeping Thea curled into his side. Across from him Tommy sat with Moira's gun set on the end table nearby. Sara appreciated his vigilance but she was not sure that Tommy could actually shoot his father.

The gun reminded Sara that someone would have to visit the prison to warn Moira but that would have to wait until tomorrow. At the sight of Sara, Walter tapped Thea's forehead to wake her up for what essentially became a family meeting. After her opener of "Malcolm is alive and coming home," Sara started with what she knew Robert would've said: suggestions for extended vacations out of town. She also knew it was pointless; Thea glared, Tommy laughed, and Walter steadfastly refused even though he was the least at risk this time. (Walter had stayed with the Queen family through the return of his wife's husband, after his own extended kidnapping, and through his wife's trial for being an accessory to the attempted destruction of the Glades. He wasn't going anywhere at this point).

With the easy business out of the way, Sara told the others what had happened that night so they could begin weighing their options. For one, they would all probably live at the Manor for the foreseeable future since it had better security than money could buy. And Robert would make them whether they wanted to or not. (Tommy hadn't had a room there for as long as Sara. Only since he had started volunteering in the Glades like his mom and Malcolm had cut him off).

Tommy was adamant that no matter what the League said, Merlyn wasn't coming for a family reunion. "He didn't bother when I was right in front of him, he wouldn't bother now. He is after something else."

They all came to the conclusion that was not much that they could do until they had more information. Besides their living situation they would all stick to their routines. Except for Thea, who would visit Moira a couple days earlier than usual to tell her what was up.

"She is going to hate that," Walter commented as he replaced his glasses on his nose and turned back to his paperwork. "Her routine is very important to her."

Sara said goodnight and went to bed.

The next day Robert sent most of the house staff, who were much easier to convince than his family, on an extended paid vacation out of town. Moira was informed. Sara, Tommy, Thea, and Walter went to work. Someone probably named Laurel spray painted a smiley face onto Sara's patrol car. Days went on as usual as they waited for Malcolm Merlyn to arrive and tell them his evil plan.

* * *

The next few weeks went by with little heard from Star City's visitors. According to the vigilante agreement they could not take any independent actions locally without the city's permission but Sara was surprised to find them actually obeying. She was sure that Nyssa's people were doing plenty of behind the scenes work but every time that she stumbled over one of them they were simply observing.

It seemed that the group were keeping an eye on Robert's team, which made sense to Sara if they thought Merlyn was coming for revenge. Robert had to shoo off the occasional tail, Sara caught site of one hooded figure on a rooftop near Verdant when she went to check on Thea. And she also thought she caught sight of Nyssa once or twice in street clothes. Who knew how many more were following them unmasked that they couldn't recognize.


	5. Chapter 5

Sara was parked on the side of the road, scrolling through dinner options in her cruiser when she received a message in the group text from Tommy at the clinic; 'He was here, he's going for Thea.' Sara almost forgot to check the road as she turned her lights on and was soon going faster than was safe.

She must have been the closest to the manor because there was no sign of anyone else when she arrived and made her way into the dark foyer. She could see the lights of the security system blinking, which meant it had been tripped and silenced but was still in active mode. They were the only light source though. In fact, the whole front of the house was dark and there was a draft coming from the doors to the ballroom. She didn't give it more than a cursory glance to check for signs of life before moving deeper into the house. She saw nothing but some rubble on the floor.

Sara did not look forward to searching the whole house by the light of her small flashlight but as she rounded a corner off the main entrance she saw a soft glow coming from the direction of the kitchen.

And when the kitchen doorway came into view it included the silhouette of an upright and seemingly unhurt Thea leaning against the door frame with her back to Sara. Startling a Queen was never a safe move so Sara evened her step to make more noise and quietly said Thea's name. Even so the girl whirled, crossbow ready and just as quickly lowered it when she registered who was there.

Thea then let out an exasperated huff and stepped aside, allowing Sara to look into the kitchen and see what Thea had been looking at.

When Laurel caught sight of Sara she grimaced but didn't say anything. Sara suspected the woman tending to the large cut on Laurel's forehead had already shushed her protests and possibly more to get Laurel to sit still.

Raisa was one of the only employees who had refused their spontaneous vacation and she was worse than Robert when it came to the Queen family strays. Even if Laurel had left before Robert started moving kids in, it appeared that she had still landed herself in that category as far as Raisa was concerned.

Sara shot off a 'Thea secure' text to the others and got a response from all of them before she turned back to Thea. "Robert and Tommy are coming. And Walter's security has decided that it is safer at the office and won't let him leave," she said. She pulled Thea into a hug. Thea's annoyed expression didn't change but she did hug Sara back tightly. Sara couldn't tell if the tremble she felt was Thea's or her own. "Are you okay?" Sara asked.

"Yeah, it just...finally hit me that he is alive." Thea finally pulled out of the hug and leaned against the wall with her arms hugging her chest protectively.

That brought the danger back to the forefront of Sara's mind but she couldn't leave the three women unprotected to clear the building. She did dare to go to the other end of the hallway, still in full view of the kitchen, and grab a couple of throw blankets out of the downstairs linen closet. Sara wrapped one around Thea and set the others aside just in case as she stepped into the kitchen.

Raisa had taped a piece of gauze over Laurel's cut and given her a towel full of ice for the bruise that was forming. She had also magically kept Laurel from leaving her seat after the fussing had finished. Now the housekeeper appeared to be preparing enough soup to feed the entire SCPD.

Sara crouched next to her sister. "So what are you doing here?" she asked.

"You know me," Laurel answered, "I like to be where the trouble is."

Before Sara could tell Laurel to cut the crap the was a noise from the front that had her back in the hall and ready to shoot with Thea and her crossbow by her side.

"Thea! Sara!" Tommy called.

"Kitchen," Sara called back. She stayed at the ready until he reached them just in case anyone else had heard their calls.

"What happened here?" Tommy asked as he swept Thea into a hug tighter than the one Sara had given her, which was saying something.

"Let's wait for dad," Thea said.

"He's checking the house," Tommy said. He had glanced into the kitchen and then turned to Sara with his eyebrows raised when he noticed their visitor. Sara could only shrug in response.

Eventually Robert arrived along with some of the lights in the hallways at the front of the house. He took his own turn hugging Thea and assessing the situation in the kitchen. "What happened," he echoed Tommy.

Thea took a deep breath. "Malcolm just...showed up. Tommy's text didn't come through in time for me and Raisa to get to the panic room so I confronted him in the ballroom before her got too far. He gave me his," she put on her best David Prouse voice, "'Join me and we can rule the galaxy as father and daughter' spiel.--"

"Wait what," Sara interrupted. The three people in front of her blinked at her in confusion and Laurel, when Sara turned to her, simply shrugged.

Tommy turned to Thea, "Did you forget to tell Sara that Malcolm is your biological father?" he asked.

Realization dawned on Thea. "I may have forgotten to tell Sara. But, in my defense, y'all only told me because it almost came out during mom's trial. Sara, you weren't getting along with the family and Dad's mistress was trying to take over the company. Mom didn't want to risk giving her any leverage. That's why Mom ended up taking the prosecutor's deal. Anyway, after I rejected him, Malcolm attacked me--"

"Why would he do that if he wanted you to join him?" Sara interrupted again.

"She insulted him. Thoroughly." Laurel answered before Thea could. "I was very impressed."

"And what were you doing here," Tommy asked, more forcefully than Sara thought was strictly necessary.

"I had news for Sara," Laurel said, not at all phased. "I saw a man sneaking in and followed him. And then I decided that he was standing in the perfect spot for the ballroom's new sunroof.

"It always was an adventure when you would visit Laurel," Robert said shaking his head.

"And what happened to your head," Sara asked her sister.

"I'm not usually in a room when I bring it down. I can't say I enjoyed the experience."

"So what happened to Malcolm?" Tommy asked.

"I went back to check but he had left," Thea said.

"Probably went off to lick his wounds," Robert muttered. "Laurel, what was your news?"

"Oh, just that the League has been lying to you, they've known more than they have shared. I've been keeping tabs on them and I would bet that Merlyn has been in town for days or even weeks."

"The good news keeps coming," Sara said sarcastically.

"We can deal with that tomorrow," Robert sighed. "Tonight we are all going to eat some soup before Raisa forces us to and then we are going to bed. Laurel, you can stay in Sara's room until we clean one of the spares up for you.

Laurel balked but Robert held up a hand. "Malcolm has a grudge against you now. You're staying. And let Tommy take a look at that cut."

Laurel seemed to realize he was right but she still scrunched up her nose and frowned. "Is this place any safer?" she asked Tommy, who made the same sour face she had but still moved to take a look at her head.

"His ideas on fatherly discipline notwithstanding, I don't think Malcolm will go out of his way to hurt his children unless you two get in his way. I doubt he'll come back here." 

They all ate their soup in silence. And then headed to their rooms.

Sara had no idea what Laurel's sleeping conditions had been like so she let Laurel take the bed. There was a comfortable sofa in her room that she had slept on plenty of times before, usually on a pile of homework.

Laurel didn't continue to protest at being forced to stay like Sara expected. Though if that was because she was tired and hurt or just Laurel being Laurel, Sara couldn't say.


	6. Chapter 6

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry the posting schedule fell apart. Life stole my attention.

The next day, after a disheveled Walter returned home and Robert made them all eat way too many pancakes, it was decided that no one would be going anywhere unprotected. Walter already had his security man, John Diggle, and his team. Robert would escort Tommy and Thea to the clinic and Thea's job at Verdant. If either of them needed to go anywhere alone today they would call Dig while Robert caught up with Sara and Laurel to confront the League.

Even with a brief stop at the station (where Laurel stayed in the car around the block) to pick up some gear and update her sergeant with some minor details, the sisters made it to the assassin's base long before Robert would likely be able to meet them. 

The 'base' was simply a warehouse near the wharf that Laurel had followed an assassin to. It was probably a decoy and not even occupied.

That was Laurel's argument anyway for going in when she finally got tired of waiting for Robert. "We need the backup," Sara said.

"You can be my backup," Laurel retorted. "This is boring." And before Sara could stop her she disappeared into the building.

Sara let out a huff but she unsnapped her holster and followed her sister.

And almost crashed into Laurel who was standing a few steps into the dimly lit building with her hands in the air. There were also an array of bowman with their arrows trained on them. Sara sighed again and put her own hands in the air. So much for being backup.

A shape emerged from the shadow's behind the line of archers and spoke, "What is the meaning of this?" The archers shifted around to allow Nyssa to join their line. She was unarmed but another lackey stood behind her with a hand on his sword.

Sara mentally weighed their options. Laurel...didn't, "You folks haven't been playing straight with us. And we aren't a fan of secrets."

"What my sister means," Sara interrupted waving her raised hands in a placating gesture, "is that we have some concerns about your side of our arrangement."

"My arrangement is not with you," Nyssa said. "The agreement is with Robert Queen."

Sara laughed. It was the kind of unexpected genuine laugh that is not really appropriate for the situation but you can't help yourself because things have become so stupid that they are now funny. Laurel even smirked along with her though her eyes asked if Sara had finally cracked. Nyssa simply looked unnerved and a little stunned.

When Sara's laugh ran it's course she said, "Lady, I am the Vigilante Liaison for Star City. You may not know what that means because it is a made up title but I am basically responsible for keeping Robert Queen, and any Mask he associates with, on the good side of our local lawmakers. A deal with him is a deal with me and if I give the word this partnership is over, this mission is over, and you are out of my City one way or another."

"And I just don't like to be toyed with," Laurel tacked on as if they had planned it. Then she pursed her lips and whistled a concentrated stream of sound that shattered the archer's bows and knocked them all back. The lackey behind Nyssa caught his boss as she stumbled and drew his sword to attack. He was pulled up short by a knife appearing at his throat in the hand of a man who had just emerged from the shadows as well.

Sara wished they could say they had planned it.

Robert pulled the lackey away from the others who were getting to their feet. Sara put her hand back to her holster but didn't draw her weapon. They had the advantage now.

"There is no need for this." Nyssa said to Robert. "We are all friends here." Her calm tone did not convey any of the tension that was evident in her posture.

"Call off your goons," Robert said. Nyssa gestured to her people and they moved away; far enough that they couldn't do anything but still in sight. Sara knew it wasn't what Robert meant but she preferred to know where everyone was. Maybe that was also why Robert did not release his hostage.

"Now that the hellos are out of the way can you tell me why Merlyn was able to attack my house last night after you had told me how carefully your people have been tracking him?" Robert asked.

"Tracking the Magician is not an exact science, Mr. Queen."

"But you knew he was in town," Laurel interjected. "Your people have been running circles around the city."

The assassin gave the Siren an appraising look. "That is true but there was no use informing you until Merlyn had settled or made a move."

"That move was against my daughter," Robert growled, tensing the hand holding the knife.

"Robert..." Sara warned. That was another, less official, job of the Vigilante Liaison, helping to keep Robert from doing something he would regret.

"The rules don't apply when my kid is in danger Sara," he responded. Both proving her point and forestalling her argument. She knew well enough that family changed the rules and she trusted him not to push it too far yet.

"If that is the goal than this course of action is counterproductive," Nyssa said dryly.

"Is that a threat?" Laurel asked, sounding almost excited.

"No," Nyssa said.

Robert's hostage took that moment to twist in Robert's grip and successfully pull away from the knife and the man, only leaving behind his balaclava clutched in Robert's hand. That probably saved his life since Robert froze mid-lunge at the sight of the man's face. Sara's jaw dropped and Laurel cocked her head as if trying to place him. 

"Oliver?" Robert said.


	7. Chapter 7

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I should probably note just to avoid any confusion. I am completely ignoring canon's decision to make Black Siren and her Oliver a thing. They were, at best, childhood friends until she left town.

"Wait, Oliver? _That_ is Oliver Queen? The tabloids did not do that boy justice," Laurel said and got an elbow in her side from Sara.

"Oliver Queen is dead," Oliver Queen said.

"Apparently the dead go to drama school," Laurel muttered, earning another elbow.

"How?" Robert said. He was clearly in shock and stepped forward, only for Oliver to step back in response. The two men sized each other up, one with a glare and the other simply stunned.

The person who broke the moment was Nyssa. She put a hand on Oliver's shoulder. "Al Sahim, you knew this was a possibility. We must not be controlled by our past." Oliver nodded curtly, seeming to collect himself. It hit Sara than that even though he was standing in front of her, her flighty fratboy housemate had indeed died and somehow become a soldier. Sara couldn't see any sign of the kid she had said goodbye to all those years ago. Nyssa continued, "Speak with your father."

Nyssa gave a pointed glance to Sara and Laurel before turning and following her other soldiers as they all headed for a doorway away from the entrance of the warehouse.

Sara understood, grabbed Laurel, and followed. "This is the best part," Laurel complained as she was dragged away.

The door led to a small room. An office probably but the only furniture was a round table with no chairs. Nyssa was the only one left inside so the other assassins must have left through one of the doors visible on the opposite wall.

"This must be difficult for you," Nyssa said when Sara had closed the door behind them. "To have a friend return from the dead."

"It's happened to me more often than you would think," Sara said, watching her presumed dead sister pace the circumference of the room before hopping up to sit on the table.

"It would have been easier if the truth had never been revealed."

Sara's head whipped around to Nyssa. "That is a terrible thing to say," she said forcefully.

Nyssa had that stunned expression again. "I apologize. I only meant that.... Al Sahim is a member of the League of Assassins. The last member that Ras Al Ghul released from his service is the man we are here to apprehend. It is not fair for Al Sahim to return to only be taken from you once more when we depart."

Sara let her expression soften. "Trust me, it is still better than the alternative."

They all stood like that for a moment. The only sound Laurel's heels kicking the table's leg.

"If you do not mind," Nyssa finally said, "I have some work that requires my attention."

Sara nodded and Nyssa left the room through the opposite middle door.

"Oliver, huh?" Laurel said as Sara moved to join her on the table.

"Oliver," Sara confirmed. When Robert had come home without him it had been like he had died twice. Sara was still struggling to process what this now meant. They sat in comfortable silence for a few minutes, mulling the situation over.

"He got hot after he died," Laurel remarked.

Sara wrinkled her nose. "He only cut his hair. We'd been telling him to do that for years."

"You don't think he is hot?" Laurel asked curiously.

"We lived too close together for too long," Sara explained. "It's weird to think of him that way."

"His boss is more your type anyway."

"What is this thing you have about her and I," Sara asked. "We literally just met her."

Laurel brushed off the question. "I think you two would make a cute couple. You should ask her out."

"Why do you want me to date someone who kills people for a living? Don't I have enough lawbreakers in my life?"

Laurel ignored her again. "You totally think she is hot. It would make everything easier if you just take her out."

"Excuse me?" a scarily calm voice asked. Nyssa was standing in the doorway she had left through, clearly having just back come in.

Laurel froze at the tone, assessing the threat.

Sara realized that Nyssa must have only heard the last sentence and simply gaped like a fish in the face of this horrible misunderstanding. Finally she managed to croak out the words, "--to dinner." and the tension in the room dissolved.

"You wish to take me out to dinner?" Nyssa clarified, looking confused.

Sara gaped again but Laurel nudged her shoulder with a triumphant grin.

"Uh, yeah, sure, Yes." Sara said.

Nyssa considered, "It is not really an appropriate time."

It was the perfect opportunity to say that was very true and let it drop but Sara hated that excuse. "With our lives is there ever an appropriate time?"

Laurel's expression bordered on glee as Nyssa considered once more. "That is an excellent point Officer Lance. I accept."

Sara didn't know how this had happened. She wasn't fully aware of what she was saying anymore. "Great, great. Good. We can meet at my apartment. Do you know where it is?" Honestly, everyone is Star City probably knew Sara's address. It had been attacked often enough.

"I do," Nyssa said at the same moment that Laurel said "She does." Nyssa gave Laurel another appraising look.

At that moment Robert poked his head into the room looking as if he had been emotionally run over. "Are you girls ready to go? Nyssa, I expect to be kept more in the loop from now on."

"You have my word, Mr. Queen," Nyssa said. 

"Be right there. Robert," Sara turned back to Nyssa, "Is Friday okay? Seven?"

"Seven it is."

"What is on Friday?" Robert asked as they left the warehouse. 

"Sara's got a da-ate," Laurel sang.

Robert tried to act surprised but looked as if he had used all of his surprise up for the day. "This has been an interesting morning," he said instead. Outside, he stopped on the street and took a deep breath. The bright sky was a sharp contrast to the dim interior they had left behind. Sara followed him and gave him an awkward side hug. "I have to tell Thea," he told her.

"And Moira," Sara said.

Robert winced and nodded. "You two should head back to the house."

"Nah, I have things to do," Laurel said. She gave them a jaunty wave before disappearing down an alley.

"Be safe," Sara called out after her. Laurel only waved again.

"Things were weird enough when yours came home," Robert said, looking at the spot where Laurel had vanished. With a shake of his head he returned Sara's hug then turned and disappeared in the other direction.

Sara did as suggested and went to the house, with a stop at the station to collect some paperwork so she could get a head start.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Praise be to Beebo, for without season three of Legends this chapter may have always frustrated me.


	8. Chapter 8

Even with the stronger pooling of resources between the vigilantes and the League the two groups could not pin down Malcolm's location in the city so life was reasonably quiet until Friday.

Sara could not honestly say how she wanted her date to go. So it was fortunate for her that she had a first date system in place. It has never been simple for a cop to date in one of the most crime-ridden cities in the world. Add to that being the Vigilante Liaison _and_ an honorary member of the Queen family and Sara was a minor local celebrity.

So first dates were made simple. Boring even. But since Nyssa was neither a groupie trying to use Sara for her access or a normal person who would be intimidated by her life, Sara was left feeling nervous that she wasn't trying hard enough. And wondering why that mattered to her so much.

In all honesty, the knock on her apartment door came way too early even though it was exactly on time. Sara brushed her fingers through her hair once more and opened it. She almost didn't recognize the woman on the other side despite having seen her in street clothes before.

Nyssa had traded her duster and assortment of weaponry in for a deep red dress over black leggings with a trilby on her head. In her hands was a single red carnation. Sara stared, realized she was staring, stared a moment more, and then stepped aside to let Nyssa in, accepting the flower. "Sorry, hello. I guess I wasn't expecting you to use the front door."

Nyssa took stock of Sara's apartment. "May I ask, how did you expect me to arrive?"

Sara laughed at herself as she went into her room to get her jacket, calling back, "I half believed that maybe you would zipline in through the window."

Nyssa was smiling when Sara returned. She had a nice smile. "Star City rooftops are rather dirty and it just so happens that your neighbor's rooftop is already occupied."

Sara rolled her eyes. "Laurel or Thea?"

"The former. Though Miss Queen does have a table at the coffee shop on the corner. Should we expect Dr. Merlyn as well?"

"No, Tommy has manners. And a shift." Jacket on, Sara grabbed a mug and filled it with water for the carnation to leave on her counter. "What about your shadows? Will any of them be around?"

"They are occupied monitoring the Magician and would not dare leave their post."

Sara nodded and grabbed her motorcycle helmet and spare, handing the latter to Nyssa. "And Oliver?"

Nyssa paused in a way that Sara was coming to understand indicated surprise. "Al Sahim is on an errand. He will not have an opportunity to try."

"Cool," Sara said opening the door for Nyssa again, "let's see if we can lose my stalkers."

Sara's apartment was on the very edge but still outside of the Glades. One of the many concessions she had made with her loved ones after she had finished at the Academy and started working in the rougher parts of the city.

The place they were heading was inside the Glades; the only Big Belly Burger Sara liked to eat at while on shift. Walter's security man had told her about it when they had first met while they were talking about work. There were a couple closer to her precinct but it was worth the distance. She liked chatting with Diggle's sister-in-law, who owned the place, and the other locations and "better" restaurants were usually too busy or too empty for her tastes due to being "cop places". 

It wasn't really an impressive first date place but it worked as another step on Sara's weeding process. (One guy had actually refused to even get out of his Lexus. Moira had stopped trying to set her up after that one.)

Sara tried to watch Nyssa as they stepped off the motorcycle and took off their helmets. Nyssa viewed the building with the calculating eye of someone used to counting exits. But Sara couldn't identify any judgment even though it didn't seem her type of establishment. Perhaps Nyssa simply didn't have much experience with the American Diner.

"Do you like milkshakes?" Sara asked.

"I have never had a milkshake," Nyssa said.

Sara grinned and ushered Nyssa inside.

* * *

Sara picked a booth by the front window and ordered a pair of milkshakes and order of fries for the table as soon as the waiter arrived. She chose a strawberry for herself and Nyssa, when given the options, requested chocolate.

"You come to this restaurant often?"

Sara shrugged and stamped down a defensive impulse. "I know the owner and I like the ambiance," she said without sarcasm. Sara couldn't help but feel self conscious but even the most pompous of Americans usually knew what to expect from a Big Belly Burger. Sara had never introduced someone to one for the very first time.

"It is...fascinating," Nyssa said as her eyes roamed the room. Sara wondered what she thought about the families and regulars enjoying their burgers.

Their drinks and fries arrived and Sara and Nyssa ordered their meals. After the waitress left, Nyssa took a tentative sip from her milkshake. Her expression changed dramatically and Sara was delighted to see her surprise so plainly for once. "This is delightful," Nyssa said.

Sara grinned. "I'm glad you like it, have some fries too."

Nyssa eyed the french fries warily. "I have so far managed to avoid the American need to fry everything."

"Than you have missed out," Sara said laughing and scooping up some for herself. "Though frying is hardly the worst American thing. Laurel, the weirdo, dips her fries into her milkshakes."

"Speaking of your sister," Nyssa said, gingerly picking up a fry, "perhaps we should say hello." Nyssa gestured toward the window.

Sara closed her eyes and asked the universe for strength before giving the window a jaunty wave. She couldn't see anything outside at first but soon there was a hint of movement in an alley across the street. As if someone out there were waving back.

"It is sweet that she is so protective," Nyssa said. Out of the corner of her eye Sara caught a glimpse of Nyssa dunking her next fry into her milkshake.

Sara turned back to see Nyssa savoring the fry/shake combo. "She isn't being protective, just nosy. It's probably revenge for following her around so much when we were little." That reminded her of a story about a school trip to the zoo. Laurel had tried so hard to escape from the Little Sister that she had gotten them both lost behind the scenes in the big cat house. As cool as the concept of being face to face with a tiger was, the truth was more harrowing for the young Lances.

"I was required to fight a tiger once," Nyssa said nonchalantly. "Though fought may be the wrong word. Train? They can be quite well-mannered as long as you are stern with them." Sara absolutely did not question the truth of that and asked a ton of follow-up questions.

Nyssa had been stiff and regal when they had first met but now she managed to tell Sara stories that should have been terrifying but made Sara laugh anyway. Sara also appreciated that Nyssa managed to not confess anything self-incriminating even though it was likely that most of her stories were work-related (most of Sara's were after all). Sara had a personal goal to not arrest any more dates.

After dinner Sara should have made started their goodnights and ended the date there. Instead she convinced Nyssa to walk with her to what remained of the nearest name-sake of the Glades. The patches of trees were few and far between and barely large enough to be called proper parks but city-dwellers take whatever green things they can get and they were probably the best maintained parts of the district.

As they walked, Sara pointed out local landmarks. First there was her favorite corner store where they sold the flavor of fruit soda that she liked. Then there was only place Sara could get her bike fixed properly. Followed by some locations of notable arrests. At one point she grabbed Nyssa's hand to drag her over to show her George the bookstore cat who was lounging behind the security grate on a copy of Senator Knowles' memoir. Neither of them let go when they walked on.

Around the corner a couple of guys across the street spotted them and wolf-whistled. Sara sensed Nyssa tense and tightened her grip on Nyssa's hand before the other woman had even moved and pulled her closer. "It's okay," Sara said.

"Get it Officer Lance," one of the guys said. Sara waved an acknowledgement that also qualified as a shooing motion.

"I told you I was a big deal in this town," Sara joked. "This is actually my original beat. The locals weren't impressed when I was only a local officer but when I became Vigilante Liaison they decided that I was their personal celebrity. Even some of the folks I arrested. I don't really work out here too often anymore but I am probably safer here than anywhere in the city."

"But you don't live here?" Nyssa asked.

"Safe doesn't mean the target goes away," Sara said with a shrug.

They walked on.


	9. Chapter 9

When Sara returned to the manor it was once more completely dark except for a light in the kitchen. But the atmosphere was thankfully much different this time. Brushing off the deja vu, Sara barely glanced at the boarded up ballroom as she followed the light, meaning to convince Raisa to go to bed. Instead, she found Tommy with his head in the refrigerator.

He peaked around to check who it is when she walked in. "Raisa left us some cake," he told Sara, gesturing to a covered plate on the kitchen island with two slices of chocolate cake. He finished pulling the milk out of the fridge and grabbed a second glass for Sara.

"That woman spoils us," Sara said, but she wasn't complaining. They each grabbed their slice and sat down on the island stools.

"I wasn't sure we would see you tonight." Tommy waggled his eyebrows obnoxiously. "Did it not go well?"

Sara flicked a piece of cake at him with her fork. He just ate it with a grin. "It went great though it's not really any of your business," she said. They ate in silence for a couple minutes before Sara said, "I don't know why we did it. There's no future there."

"There is always some future," Tommy said. "Hell, with everybody coming back from the dead their may be two futures in your future."

Sara laughed, appreciating the option to change the subject. "I was still wrapping my head around Laurel and your dad. Ollie is just the icing on the crazycake."

"Did you hear? He snuck into Iron Heights tonight to see Moira."

So that was where Nyssa had sent him. "How did that go?" Sara asked.

"Great actually from what I heard," Tommy said matching her surprise. "She called Walter and Robert afterwards."

"Looks like Moira's routine is shot to hell this week." Tommy chuckled. The two of them lapsed into another amiable silence.

After they had finished their cake and milk Sara grabbed their dishes, rinsed them, and placed them in the dishwasher. Tommy got up and waited for her at the kitchen door and they headed upstairs together. Tommy gave Sara a side hug goodnight before they separated to their own rooms. "You shouldn't give up on a good thing because you can't see the future, even if it is something...unusual," he said gently before letting her go.

"It's a little more than unusual, Tommy," Sara said with an eye-roll. "Honestly you might be the last person I would expect to be okay with this."

Tommy shrugged as he stepped away. "An unconventional lifestyle is going to have unconventional outcomes," he said seriously.

"Thanks Doc," she said thoughtfully as he stepped through his door.

Laurel was already spread out diagonally on Sara's bed. She had earphones connected to a small box sitting on the Star City Police T-shirt she had apparently borrowed from Sara's closet.

Sara gently removed the ear phones and the box, clearly a music player of some sort. It was old and slightly battered with a homemade label on the back that said 'Property of Bartholomew Henry Allen'. It took a moment for Sara to figure out how to turn it off before she set it on her nightstand and headed to her own bed.

* * *

The next few days were a flurry of the normal brand of criminal activity for the vigilantes but Sara missed most of it. She had to take what little time she could to catch up on her day job. Sara had always suspected that her captain had only agreed to her appointment as Vigilante Liaison because the amount of paperwork tended to trap her at her desk. As an old friend of her dad, Captain Pike did what he could to protect her.

Lately Sara didn't mind as much since it gave her one place that a certain inter-dimensional fugitive couldn't bug her.

"Lance, I need to talk to you."

Sara stopped her writing mid-sentence and held back a sigh. When she looked up, her Captain wordlessly gestured for her to follow him. Sara didn't know what she could possibly have done to warrant such seriousness from him. Since she didn't technically report to him, Pike didn't tend to get brusque with her. Sara finished writing her sentence, got up, and headed to the Captain's office.

He didn't seem to be in a good mood so Sara decided to play it safe. She stood at attention behind the chair as Captain Pike rounded the table to take the other seat.

"Stop that, sit down," he told her when he saw what she was doing.

Sara sat and leaned back in the chair. "What's up?"

Captain Pike gave her sudden shift from respect to casual an exasperated look. "What is this I hear about unfamiliar Masks roaming the Glades. I have reports that they've been seen with Green Arrow but you haven't logged them in."

Sara straightened up slightly since it turned out this was a business meeting after all. "They aren't exactly Masks, sir." Sara had been struggling with how to report this all morning. She had been filling out the simpler paperwork first. "They are an out-of-town unit pursuing a fugitive. It's taken time for Robert and I to work out a deal for their operation in Star City. I was just writing up the log form but a full briefing could compromise the situation." Translation: Everyone would freak the hell out.

Pike flinched when she used Robert's name, as he often did. He had moved past his complicated relationship with vigilantes after the mayor had sanctioned their activity but he still had not gotten past the idea of a prominent private citizen becoming a regular business associate. "You recall that they aren't protected by the Vigilante Agreement until the paperwork is filed. Uni's are stretched thin. As usual. We can't afford these folks getting unruly. Is there any way we can speed up their departure?"

Only by flushing a not-so-dead mass murderer out into the open and putting more lives in danger. "I'll see what I can do."

"Good. Make sure they abide by the rules. And call in McKenna's squad if you need backup."

"Thanks boss."

The Captain made no sign of dismissing her. "How are you doing?" he asked. "You keeping out of trouble?"

"I'm doing great," Sara said as genuinely as she could.

"You didn't say you're keeping out of trouble but I'll let it slide as long as you promise me you are taking care of yourself, Sara."

"I do my best," Sara said with a wry smile.

* * *

As she was filling out her last form, a restock request for surveillance gear, Sara received a text from Robert.

'Meeting at 6. Making a move.'

'Green form?' she texted back. That was the form she would need to call in McKenna's squad for backup on an operation.

'Not yet,' she got back. The 'yet' worried her. Robert wasn't usually stingy when it came to backup. Not after they had saved Thea's and his lives half a dozen times.


	10. Chapter 10

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hopefully this is the last time I need to apologize for a delay on this story. And I am very sorry for how long it was. The problem with choosing to follow season 3 of Arrow is that I strongly dislike season 3 of Arrow. So I wasn't eager to get the DVDs out of the library to fact check details. [With a bonus delay from the last user misplacing the disc I needed with the one from season 2 before returning the box.]

They met again at the League warehouse to hash out the details. Malcolm was apparently holed up at the old residence of some monk named Jansen. The League's recon found the place to be heavily guarded but it was also a large piece of property so the guards would have to be spread out. There would also probably be innocent civilians on site. Sara eyed the blueprint skeptically.

"Police would get in the way," Oliver said pointedly.

Nyssa shot him a look but didn't disagree. "Merlyn clearly has allies. We cannot risk revealing all of our cards too soon. We may not succeed tonight."

"Speaking of that possibility," Robert said with a significant look, "Sara, can you stay with Thea during all of this? It's hard enough trying to keep her out of Malcolm's bad books. And if he gets away I don't want her unprotected."

Sara glared at him because that was too good of an argument for her to say no. She didn't feel a burning desire to storm the Dark Archer's hiding place but she also wasn't cool with being benched this round. She could pull rank on him and he knew that so he gave her some extra puppy dog eyes.

Sara sighed and gave in, turning to Laurel, who was lounging on some crates and trying to lure Ollie into a staring contest. "What do you say? Movie night?"

Laurel got up and wandered a circle around the group while examining the blueprint. "Sorry Sis. I'm not missing the fun this time."

This inspired identical frowns from Robert and Oliver; Sara had to quickly turn her laugh into a cough. If they were going to leave her out than what better revenge then forcing them to take Laurel.

The meeting ended and the assault team set to prepping their gear. Sara couldn't do anything more to help so she headed out after saying goodbye and good luck. Nyssa caught up with her at the door.

"Robert has given me permission to send a man to the manor as well. If the Magician has contingencies you shall not be alone."

"Oh," Sara said, equally impressed and confused. That was a big sign of trust from Robert, unless this was another reason Sara had been asked to stay behind. Mulling this over almost caused Sara to miss Nyssa's next words; it didn't help that they were in a hushed tone.

"I enjoyed our evening the other night," Nyssa said.

"I did too." Sara moved closer to the shadow of the doorway since Nyssa seemed worried about eavesdroppers. "It was refreshingly normal."

"It was." Nyssa's expression was it's usual inscrutable but Sara thought she caught a hint of the excitement that a taste of normal can give. Especially when someone hasn't had it for a while. Or ever. It was a familiar expression in Sara's circle of friends. "I was hoping," Nyssa continued hesitantly, "that we could do it again?"

Sara took a moment to consider, recalling the advice Tommy had given her and the adorably shy smile on Nyssa's face. "I'd like that," she decided.

* * *

Sara had checked the perimeter twice after she arrived home that evening but she still hadn't caught sight of Nyssa's man on the grounds. If nothing else he was at least good at his job. Now Sara was fiddling with the remote trying to remember which input channel the DVD player was on. The problem that always came with owning the best electronics is that setup can take three hours for a simple movie night. Thea had already returned from the kitchen with the bag of microwave popcorn. 

"Usually the babysitter would let me pick the movie," Thea whined. She plopped onto the couch next to Sara and draped her feet over her.

"Babysitters get paid to do that," Tommy said from next to the DVD player, trying to help figure things out from that end.

"And it isn't your turn," Sara added.

Raisa didn't say anything. She just continued knitting over in her easy chair.

Thea huffed good-naturedly. "Your payment is me not destroying you for holding me hostage." She reached back over her head for the metal popcorn bowl to fill it. She missed though and the bowl ended up on the floor instead with a loud clatter.

Then five things happened at once.

1) A crash from behind them indicated that someone had burst into the room.  
2) Sara and Thea jumped to their feet, Sara with her gun and Thea with a crossbow that had come out of nowhere.  
3) Tommy grabbed a paperweight from a side table and flung it across the room. It hit the now open door and knocked it into the intruder.  
4) Tommy also grabbed a poker from the fireplace.  
5) Raisa paused her knitting.

The assassin, unmistakably Nyssa's man, carefully lowered his bow and raised both hands into the air in surrender.

Something in his stance or manner sparked a sense of familiarity in Sara as she lowered her own weapon. She wasn't the only one because Thea outright dropped her crossbow and launched herself over the back of the couch at the man.

Some instincts stick with you forever and cannot be forgotten or ignored when they are needed. The trained assassin dropped his weapon without hesitation and caught his sister effortlessly.

They stood like that long enough for Sara to consider if grabbing a camera was worth spoiling the moment. Eventually Oliver set Thea back on her feet and pulled off his balaclava, looking around at them all ruefully.

"You're just in time for the movie," Thea said, wiping her eyes and laughing. She dragged Ollie over to the couch.

"That's not..." Oliver started, looking around at them again for help as he let Thea push him into a seat.

Sara made a 'don't look at me' face and Raisa simply reached over and gave him a comforting pat, her smile saying how happy she was to see him.

"Don't bother Ollie," Tommy said, returning to his seat warily. "She's only gotten more stubborn over the years."

Thea stuck her tongue out at him and grabbed the popcorn and bowl. She sat in more or less the same spot with her legs on Sara again but leaning back against Oliver's shoulder so he couldn't escape.

Sara generously didn't laugh but she did swipe the popcorn and finally got it into the bowl while Tommy started the movie.


	11. Chapter 11

Movie nights used to be a regular thing at Queen Manor and they hardly ever managed to find something that all of them hadn't seen so commentary was common and usually not discouraged. Thea, the most likely one to complain about said commentary, spent most of the current movie helpfully explaining pop culture reference whenever Oliver looked confused. Which was most of the time.

The movie wasn't a short one but there was still no news from the operation by the time the credits rolled. Tommy and Thea argued over the next movie, technically Thea's turn this time, while Sara went to prep more popcorn and check the perimeter.

Sara took an extra moment at the old doorway to the ballroom, sealed off with wooden boards and a small 'No dads allowed sign' courtesy of Thea with a small arrow between 'No' and 'dads' with the word 'evil' added later by Sara.

It was there that Oliver found her, having successfully escaped the sofa and retrieved his bow. Sara nodded to him and moved to continue her sweep but he stopped her.

"I was hoping for a word," he said.

Sara shifted uncomfortably but she didn't brush him off even though she wanted too. It had been fine while they were joking around during the movie but it was weird having a conversation with a stranger that looked like your friend. "Go ahead."

"Nyssa," he said. Sara had been expecting something like this eventually. "I know what you are up to," Ollie continued.

"You don't need to make it sound like we are planning to overthrow the government, Oliver. We just had dinner." Somehow, he had managed to instantly destroy the awkwardness Sara had been feeling about talking to a ghost. Being exasperated with Oliver Queen was familiar ground.

"Nyssa is the Heir to the Demon, Sara. Ras Al Ghul expects her to succeed him." Oliver paused. "And to continue his bloodline."

Actually, Sara had not been expecting something like this. She _couldn't_ have expected this. "This is really none of your business," she told Oliver coldly. "But I am sure that you and Ras will be happy to know that--"

"It isn't Ras' happiness that I am worried about," Oliver interrupted with evident frustration. He took a moment to composed himself. "Nyssa dragged me out of the ocean Sara. I was dead. She took me to Nanda Parbat, she trained me. And Nanda Parbat could have its moments of joy but, during all those years, I can now honestly say I had never seen her having any type of real fun. I need you to understand that there may be a price for that."

Sara needed a minute to parse what he had said. "You haven't had a conversation with a normal person in a while, huh."

Oliver looked rueful again. "No, not really."

Sara gave him a highly telegraphed friendly punch on the shoulder, "I'll be careful with your boss, dude. And I'm not scared of her dad."

Oliver looked like he was very much scared of her dad but he didn't say so. Instead he rubbed his shoulder and changed the subject. "Where did Tommy learn to throw like that."

Sara laughed. "He followed a girl onto the Quidditch team in med school. They broke up eventually but our boy Tommy had already become a nerd jock." Oliver looked confused again and Sara couldn't remember if he had read Harry Potter before he left. She turned to continue her patrol and said, "Look it up sometime. It's a cool sport. And don't take too long getting back or Thea will legitimately hunt you down."

Oliver gave her a genuine smile, the first she had seen from him since he returned, and it worked almost like a time machine on his face. Grow his hair out a bit and you could almost see the frat boy that went sailing away.

* * *

They made it through a third movie and a takeout order before Robert and Nyssa arrived back at the manor. Sara had moved to the easy chair when Thea had fallen asleep still draped over Oliver, Tommy was dozing, and Raisa had long since gone to bed.

Robert had texted ahead so there was no jump to action when they entered the room. Oliver didn't even snap to attention when he saw Nyssa, probably because that would have knocked Thea to the floor.

"All quiet here?" Robert asked even though that was obvious.

"Fine here. How about with you?" Sara asked.

"We can debrief tomorrow," Robert said. He muffled a yawn.

"Al Sahim?" Nyssa said. It was clear to Sara that she was giving Oliver a choice though he didn't seem to take it that way. He looked helplessly for a way to extricate himself from the couch without waking Thea up.

"Here," Tommy said helpfully as he got up rubbing sleep from his eyes and came over. He pick Thea up, nodded goodnight to everyone, and carried her upstairs.

When Oliver was back at his place at Nyssa's back, Nyssa turned to Sara. "Does Saturday work for you? Lunch?"

Sara glanced at Robert to check his reaction but his expression was unreadable. "It does, See you then."

After the assassins had left, Robert caught Sara still looking at him side-eyed. "Oh, stop that. I'm not going to comment on your personal life. And you've done much worse than her. Nyssa is a decent sort."

Sara couldn't argue that she had very much done worse. "Where is Laurel?" she asked.

Robert surprised Sara by chuckling. "She wanted to stay out for a bit. I think she needed to wind down from all the fun she had tonight." The fact that Robert found that amusing terrified Sara a bit. "She promised she would be home eventually."

That confused Sara, if Laurel was definitely coming back to the manor then there must still be danger. But Robert was less stressed, as if they had succeeded. He also seemed exhausted so Sara let it go for now. She would get her answers tomorrow.

They said their goodnights and Sara went to her room. Since Laurel was out gallivanting through the city (and hopefully staying out of trouble) Sara decided to sleep in her own bed for once.

And so she ended up on the floor two hours later when her sister shoved her out of it.

* * *

Robert liked to use fancy words like 'debrief' but what it really translated to in the Queen household was brunch. Robert stationed himself at the kitchen island with the waffle maker and wearing Raisa's apron. He doled out waffles as he recapped the events of the night before.

"The building was a sprawl but we found our way to the 'center' by following the concentration of guards. Unfortunately the man at the center was just another lackey but with a little help--"

"Aka, a few structural redesigns," Laurel interjected. She was scooping Cool Whip onto a plate that Sara was almost positive had never contained a waffle and looked annoyingly awake for someone out until the early hours of the morning.

"--we flushed Malcolm out."

"And what happened to him?" Tommy asked.

"That is the bad news. He still managed to escape." The whole gang groaned. "But, the good news is that he ran out of town like a bat out of Gotham. With Nyssa's people hot on his tail. The latest report from Nyssa is that they are tracking him toward Coast City."

"You aren't going after him?" Thea asked, swiping a waffle that had definitely been headed for Tommy's plate.

"My place is watching over you kids and Star City, I can't go chasing Malcolm around the country. Anyway, I think the League has a bigger claim on him than I do. Until we can be sure he is not coming back though, Diggle will continue to shadow you Thea, and I will keep hanging around the clinic."

Thea groaned.


	12. Chapter 12

Saturday came quickly with nothing eventful to distract Sara. The news on Merlyn was sparse and distant and Sara spent most of the time writing up the details for her reports of recent events.

Then, when it came, Saturday did not start well for Sara. Her run went fine but her coffee place was unusually busy and the barista was training someone new who got her order atrociously wrong. She decided she had just enough time to wait for a replacement to give the guy another shot at it.

Next, right outside the coffee shop, a pickpocket made the questionable decision to swipe some wallets literally under Sara's nose. Which meant dragging him off to the nearest police station because Sara had also forgotten her phone. After a little paperwork she finally got back to her apartment a couple hours later than she meant to and late for her lunch date. Sara hoped Nyssa's plans would leave her some time to get cleaned up.

As prompt as before, Nyssa was already standing in Sara's hallway, having a serious looking conversation in Arabic on a flip phone. Sara had to take a moment once again to justify the sword wielding warrior with the eerily normal looking woman standing before her.

Nyssa disturbed Sara's reverie by noticing her. She murmured a hasty goodbye and hung up the phone as she rushed forward.

Nyssa grabbed Sara's arm and gripped her tightly. "You are alright," Nyssa stated, moving a hand to Sara's cheek.

"Is there a reason I wouldn't be?" Sara grabbed the hand on her face to try to comfort her evident worry. Nyssa didn't respond but grasped the offered hand tightly and dragged Sara over to her own front door. Which was wide open.

Sara's usual home invader (Laurel) usually left no trace but the absence of the food she stole. Sara's unusual (vigilante adjacent) home invaders liked to be annoying and break her door down. And Nyssa wouldn't be so worried if she had been the one who had opened it. The door puzzled Sara enough that she stared at it quizzically for a few moments before finally looking beyond. The hallway was also mostly fine, aside from a vase the had fallen and broke. It looked like someone had knocked into the table on their way past. 

"I have checked for intruders but I cannot tell if anything is missing," Nyssa said.

"I don't have anything worth stealing," Sara said. She learned a long time ago that it was too much of an easy target to keep any valuables in her home.

The two women entered the apartment, carefully avoiding the broken glass. There were other small signs of disturbance: A jacket had fallen off the coat rack, A picture frame slightly askew. And in the kitchen the biggest one. Sara's carnation had been knocked off the counter, breaking the mug. And the freezer had been left open. There was a melted puddle of Ben & Jerry's in the middle of the floor; one of the cartons from Sara's secret stash that she tried to hide from Laurel and Thea behind a stack of frozen vegetables.

In the middle of the puddle was a boot print.

Sara eyed the scene with bemusement. "Did Laurel trash my apartment as a commentary on my ice cream choices? I usually can't even tell she has been here."

Nyssa had circled the ice cream puddle while examining the whole room with a practiced eye. Sara followed her when Nyssa crouched next to the freezer to pick something up. "I do not believe that this was intentional on your sister's part," she said, showing the object to Sara.

It was a gem stud, too small for an earring. It was Laurel's nose ring.

Sara turned back to the puddle to examine the boot print. She wasn't an expert but the tread did seem more functional than Laurel's usual style. And larger.

Sara snapped a picture and went back to the freezer. She grabbed a carton of ice cream from the front (one of the ones she had actually labeled with Laurel's name) and squeezed it. It squished a little in her hand but wasn't soup yet. It hadn't been too long, but maybe long enough.

Sara's mind whirled with enemy lists and motives as she closed the freezer and pulled a plastic bag from a drawer. She opened it and held it out for Nyssa, who understood and dropped the stud in. "I need to change," Sara said.

"I will call Robert for you," Nyssa said.

Sara nodded her thanks and went to suit up.

* * *

When Sara's job was created she was given the option to have looser dress code like detectives. And on your average day she would go with that option. But when she was in the field she knew she needed to be as recognizable as her charges so she always wore her blues. 1) For her own safety. And 2) So that it was obvious who was coming for them.


	13. Chapter 13

Nyssa didn't join Sara to meet the others at the clinic. But she promised Sara that she would catch up with them after collecting her people.

"We will find her," Nyssa promised.

Sara didn't really remember her trip to the clinic but she somehow arrived at the same time as Thea and her bodyguard who had been much closer at Verdant.

"What's going on?" Thea asked, eyeing her uniform as Diggle opened the door for them all.

"John," Sara said with a nod instead of answering. She wasn't intentionally being rude but pointing out that it was the type of 'personal' business that Diggle preferred to be left out of.

Thea looked startled as if she had forgotten Diggle was there and Sara could have laughed any other day. Thea had finally gotten used to the bodyguard. "Dig, can you stay here in the lobby while we head back?"

"Of course, Miss Queen," Diggle said and settled in to wait. That was another surprise, given the Queen family's tendency to escape protection. Thea and Dig must have come to an agreement during their time together.

The two headed to the back and into Robert's office where Tommy was waiting for them. Sara ignored his quizzical look and they all went down the elevator.

Robert was waiting for them at the bottom. At his right was a nervous looking dark haired woman holding a tablet. Sara couldn't place her face but Thea helped her out as Tommy brushed past the girls to stand behind Robert and the woman. Thea realized too late that he had been moving to get out of range.

"What is Tommy's girlfriend doing here?"

Both Tommy and his girlfriend, whose name Sara recalled was Felicity, winced.

"Girls," Robert said too calmly. "This is my Business Associate: Felicity Smoak."

"Your Associate is Tommy's girlfriend?" Sara asked for clarification. She recalled that Tommy and Felicity had met a Queen Consolidated but she wasn't really in a good frame of mind to process this right now. Unfortunately this new information was a bit too big to brush off.

"Yes and no. Before we convinced the press that my 'secret lair' was across town, some tabloid paparazzo got a shot of Felicity leaving my office. Since it was odd for my head of R&D to meet me at my private clinic and since I have a...reputation--" Thea scoffed. "--Tommy stepped in to protect Felicity's."

"But the dinners... She came over for Christmakkuh. I threw her a birthday party."

"Which was very sweet," Felicity interjected, holding up her hands in a calming gesture. "You were the best adopted family of a fake boyfriend I have ever had. Not that I meet a lot of fake boyfriend's families. Or have other fake boyfriends. Tommy is my one and only fake boyfriend."

"Ex-Fake Boyfriend," Tommy said helpfully. Felicity smiled at the reminder and shot him with fingers guns and a tongue click. Tommy returned the gesture. Sara did vaguely remembered a tabloid mentioning their breakup.

"That was adorable," Sara said. "And I will probably need all of the details but I think this should wait for later." Her tone distracted Thea enough for her to let the inevitable drama drop for the moment.

"Right," Felicity said, shifting instantly into business mode. "I assume you found Black Siren's tracker since it followed you here?"

"Tracker?" Sara said as she followed Felicity up to the computer bank. She heard Thea mumble "This is about Laurel?" to Tommy who only shrugged.

Felicity sat down at a computer and started typing while looking at a different screen. "Dr. Wells' tracker? I don't think he was worried about anyone else looking for her because it was really easy to hack the signal. We've been using it to keep an eye on her."

Sara pulled out Laurel's stud nose ring and held it out. It was the only thing she brought with her.

Felicity glanced between the bag and her tablet. "That's it. Its smaller than I expected. Can I take a look?"

Robert cleared his throat from across the room where he was prepping his gear.

"Later. Right. I've also scanned for meta-dampers but there is nothing unregistered. They aren't blocking her powers but there are also no noise complaints." Felicity gestured to another computer screen. "I tried to find them on traffic cams but there are a lot of blind spots around your apartment. You should really talk to your bosses about that since they're the ones who made you a target in the first place. And this one," Felicity pointed behind herself without turning around, "is confirming the locations of all of the folks Black Siren has chased out of town. Most of them are accounted for."

"Wait what?" Sara asked, barely keeping up.

But Felicity didn't seem to notice the confusion. "Yeah, Bertenelli is still making her way around Europe. Vertigo's prison transfer went smoothly and he is safely in Arkham. And that guy who was bothering the Big Brothers, Big Sisters kids went into the Everglades and never came back out."

"Cin wished for him to get eaten by a crocodile," Sara mumbled almost to herself as she turned to take a closer look at the computer list. She recognized every single name.

Robert and Thea were suiting up and Tommy was helping collect gear when a small crash and thump came from the far side of the lair. A figure stumbled out of the shadows where Sara knew the underground entrance was and it spoke to the skill of everyone present that it only took a split second for 4.5 weapons to be pointed at said figure (Felicity had picked up a stapler).

The figure held up one hand and lowered his hood with the other. Oliver was most definitely going to get shot by his family someday.

When everyone had stopped pointing weapons at him and Felicity had lowered her stapler, Oliver put his shielding hand to his shoulder, which was noticeably bleeding. Tommy was across the room as fast as any of the vigilantes he worked with could be.

"Oliver?" Robert asked.

"Oliver...Queen?" Felicity whispered.

Sara nodded.

"Hm."

Oliver halfheartedly tried to swat Tommy away but the Doc only swatted him back. So Oliver resigned himself to treatment and turned back to the group. "Merlyn is back in town."


	14. Chapter 14

Black Siren woke up slowly with an ache in her muscles and the taste of ozone in her mouth. For the second damn time someone had caught her. By accident. It was bad enough when is was _Cisco_ but a taser in the back was a new low for her.

Siren twisted her wrists to test her restraints. She was tied to a chair securely but she still had feeling in her fingers so these were clearly amateurs. Siren could've laughed. She tried but there was one more restraint: Those idiot moronic bastards had put a muzzle on her. Maybe they did know who they were dealing with but they chose the damn stupid-ass decision to put a muzzle on her face.

Siren opened her eyes to see where these fools had chosen to die. The room was large and lit only by an emergency light somewhere behind her. A couple of uncomfortable looking office chairs littered the space between her and a door ahead of her.

There were no visible guards. That was disappointing but she would manage to find someone's head to explode eventually. Siren had been practicing with watermelons. But if no one was watching her she couldn't imagine what it was they wanted. It was a bold move kidnapping anyone, even a in-hiding ex-evil metahuman army leader, from the apartment of Star City's most darling cop.

Siren was an eighth of the way the way through her mental list of enemies when she finally got an answer. And it had to be the least exciting answer.

"I have to apologize for the treatment you have received," Malcolm Merlyn said as he strolled through the door. "I must admit I was unprepared to host you as I sent for the other Lance sister. It seems that some people," he glared at the man that followed him into the room, "can't tell blondes apart." Merlyn turned back to Siren with a jovial smile.

Siren didn't know what he expected of this conversation. It wasn't as if she could banter back even if she wasn't busy imagining what she would do to him.

Merlyn continued anyway with a melodramatic sigh, "I really did need your sister's help for my plan. She was going to do me a favor but I'm afraid it won't work with a metahuman metabolism. Perhaps you would be open to a deal?"

Black Siren quirked an eyebrow to indicate she was listening. Obviously.

"My disagreement with Ras can only end one way, with his death or mine. I know I am no match for the Demon's Head." Malcolm held up his hands at the look that crossed Siren's face. "Don't be ridiculous, you are no match for him either. But a show of strength could get him to back down. Perhaps if his lieutenant were to die?"

Black Siren wished she could sneer properly but her eyes seemed to do the job well enough.

"I thought you might say that so I'll offer one more incentive. I've heard about your little project. The scared straight-out-of-town program? If you kill Nyssa Al Ghul I will guarantee your sister's safety for the rest of her life."

Siren raised her eyebrow, skeptically this time.

"I won't let anything happen to my children, ungrateful as they may be. It is a small favor to add Sara Lance to my responsibly here. If you do me the favor of killing Ms. Al Ghul."

Siren did not make any gesture of response.

"I'll let you think about it. Make yourself at home," Merlyn said. He and his lackey left.

* * *

"There are only a few buildings owned by Merlyn Global that Tommy hasn't yet sold off," Felicity announced to the room.

Sara, who was still hovering right behind Felicity, squinted at the map Felicity had brought up. "Nyssa said the trail ended at 2nd Street," she said, pointing at the map from her apartment to the spot. Felicity added a line for her.

"That knocks it down to two likely options," Felicity updated the room.

"Robert," Sara called across the room. "7th Avenue or Scarlet Lane."

"Not Scarlet." The answer came from the other side of the room instead, where Oliver was taking some of their spare gear. "Scarlet is that Marketing Office, right? That building is all glass, you couldn't hide anything there."

Sara caught site of his blush before he turned back to the crossbow he was examining. If she looked into it she guessed that she might find a tabloid scandal involving long distance window shots. "So he is at 7th."

"That would be a good place," Tommy said as he exited the elevator. He had gone upstairs to get some stuff for Ollie. "The last tenant bought out of his lease and its been on the market for ages with no takers." While he was upstairs Tommy had switched out his scrubs for jeans and a blue leather jacket.

"What's with the getup?" Thea asked him as Tommy passed her on his way to chase and catch Oliver.

"I wanted to match," Tommy replied, taking a quick turn to show off his jacket.

Robert hung his head in obvious resignation but still said, "Tommy, you are not coming. It's your father, you shouldn't have to go through this."

"You're right, I shouldn't," Tommy said cheerfully as he feinted left and cornered Oliver, "but I am going to. Anyway, he is Thea's father too."

Thea made a face at him when he dragged her in to it. "You can't come because you don't have a codename."

"I don't have a codename either," Sara interjected. Even though Thea was right and he would need one for Sara to put him on her official roster.

"Of course you have a codename Officer Hotpants," Thea said, not taking her eyes off of Tommy and Oliver's struggle.

Sara looked incredulously at Felicity who gave Sara a guilty shake of her head and pointed back at Thea.

"Thea picked it during the bombings last June," Robert explained. He was all too familiar with conversations getting sidetracked.

"When your FBI friend was in town," Thea added.

"Oh," Sara said, thinking back. She had been called to one of the scenes on her off day. "Those pants are hot. I'll allow it."

While they had been talking, Tommy had managed to get Oliver to take a pill and given him a shot. Now he was pointedly ignoring Thea's glare and collecting some gear and a spare mask for himself.

"Tommy knows the building," Oliver said, frowning and rubbing the neon green Band-Aid Tommy had given him after the shot. "He should come."

Sara noticed Felicity slowly turn a monitor containing building blueprints away from Thea's line-of-sight.

Thea finally conceded. Robert wasn't happy but he had clearly given up on fighting this particular fight a long time ago.


	15. Chapter 15

Since they were in a rush, Sara met the three vigilantes at her car after they left the clinic through the back entrance Oliver came through. Oliver went his own way to regroup with his team.

Even though the mission was barely beginning Sara was starting to come down from the adrenaline she had been on since getting to her apartment. They were on the way to the scene with police backup and the League of Assassins set to meet her there. Tommy and Thea were arguing in the back seat about Tommy's codename. It was starting to feel almost routine and that was calming her down when she really needed to be on edge. Especially since they were basing a lot of this mission on conjecture and circumstantial evidence. What if they were wrong and had wasted crucial time on this operation? What if they were _really_ wrong and Laurel had planned the worst prank ever?

The building they arrived at didn't look the type to harbor any criminals except the white collar kind. Though this part of 7th avenue being sparsely populated, even for late afternoon on a Saturday, did add a sense of eeriness to the street.

Felicity had handed out earbuds before they left. Sara had never gotten one for the team's personal line before. As they pulled up, the gravelly voice that was Felicity's vocal disguise for the recording crackled into Sara's ear. "The Merlyn Global building has dropped property values on the whole block so there will hopefully be few civilians around."

"Copy that, Boss," Robert answered.

"Boss?" Sara asked.

"The Boss went on a bit of a Mob movie kick when they joined the team," Robert said with a shrug.

"It really confuses criminals," Thea said. "It's hilarious."

Tommy had settled on the codename Hermes (which apparently involved some mythology/health care joke) just in time for Sara to explain to her on-call squad of back-up who he was. Sara also gave them as much of the situation as she could regarding a 'cult' taking a hostage and potentially holing up in the building. Since it was a vigilante op the cops would be providing support with civilians and securing the scene. Their orders were to follow the vigilante teams and keep things clear behind them. Nyssa and her assassins arrived just in time for Sara to point them out as another team of "Masks" they were working with. Some units could get testy when the vigilantes were in charge but Sara didn't have to worry about that from McKenna's squad. They had been on Arrow duty enough times that they were the unofficial unit for vigilante ops.

With her officers in order, Sara had to go give a different spiel to the League with Robert's help. They got a refresher on the Vigilante Laws and the consequences of breaking them, which Nyssa promised would be enforced.

Sara then handed out Tags; a specially designed piece of electronic equipment that would protect them from being "unmasked" by the police body cams. "Don't even think about abusing or stealing these because they are only good for one use and we can still identify you with the proper subpoenas."

"I know what the League's objective is," Robert took over, "but the goal today is the hostage. If anyone forgets that and she is hurt then they will have me to deal with."

"They will remember," Nyssa said and it was an order, not a response. Sara gave them both a grateful smile.

And with that, Sara signaled her officers and followed Green Arrow into the building with Red Arrow, Hermes, the League of Assassins, and SCPD behind them.


	16. Chapter 16

The main lobby was small with multiple doors leading off to the rest of the building. Tommy said most of them led to ground floor offices. The elevator was shut down and locked when the final tenant had moved out but there were 3 sets of staircases.

Robert paired them off into three teams. Each group led by an official Team Arrow member. They would each take a staircase and divvy up the floors. Each team would clear a floor and return to their designated staircase. Robert sent Thea and Tommy to the one in the left, he and Oliver would take the right wing, and Nyssa and Sara would get the main staircase in the middle, with a few of Nyssa's people tagging along with each group. Sara's officers would check the first floor and follow up the stairs to hold the cleared floors.

Sara was used to backing up archers so she and Nyssa found a rhythm easily. There was nothing but a couple of squatters on the third floor who were firmly instructed to leave. On the sixth floor they stumbled on an armed thug sneaking a smoke. Nyssa knocked him down with a blunt tipped arrow before he could even exhale. Sara cuffed him and they left one of Nyssa's people with him until an officer could come up to collect him. Felicity kept Sara updated on the others finding a couple of people as well.

"There aren't enough guards," Sara said as they reentered the stairwell and continued up. "Why aren't there more guards?"

Nyssa pulled Sara to a stop and gestured for the others to go ahead. "The presence of any guards indicates that she is here."

"They could be any old lowlifes. Criminals love abandoned buildings. There aren't enough to hold...the hostage." The calm that Sara had found on the car ride over was starting to fracture. Sara had never been one to crack under pressure so the spiral she was now falling into took her completely by surprise. She couldn't stop it, she only barely managed to stop herself from saying Laurel's name over the recorded channel.

"Sara. She is here. She will be well. And if I am lying to you I will personally disembowel the Magician."

Sara caught a breath. Then another one. The combination of assurances and threat managed to flip her back into cop-mode. "Please don't. I would have to arrest you."

Nyssa smiled. "Thankfully that will not be required."

An assassin hissed at them from a floor above them across the stairs. "We found something."

"You okay, Officer Hotpants?" the voice in her ear asked as Nyssa and Sara moved to catch up.

"Yeah, thanks Boss."

The thing the two assassins had found was another armed guard, who they had already subdued. "He was guarding the door to the stairway," one of them said.

"That's new," Sara said, daring to hope. She followed the others through the door. "Must be something special about this floor."

"Ninth floor has a decent sized conference room towards the front of the building. Other than that it is just more offices," Felicity offered like she had for the other floors. Sara passed the information on. 

They swept the rooms like they had before. This time going slower and quieter in case there were more oddly placed guards. As they approached the conference room they turned a corner and spotted a group of people at the other end of the hall. They quickly backtracked.

"I saw five guards," Sara said. "For one door? Has to be the conference room. Could be Merlyn or the hostage."

"If its guarded than you should know that there are two more entrances: One down the closest left and another around the back," Felicity offered and Sara repeated.

"They shall see us long before we can disable them all," Nyssa said. "How do you wish to proceed."

Sara peaked around the corner. "The other doors could also be guarded. We can probably get up to those offices," she pointed down the hall, "unnoticed. I'll go in one and try to lure some away, you hide in the other one until someone comes to investigate. Then go clear the door and split up to get the other entrances."

They hugged the wall and successfully made it to offices unnoticed. After the others were inside theirs, Sara ducked across the hall to the other. An attentive guard would have spotted her doing so but no alarm was sounded so she would have to get creative. The office she had chosen still had most of its large furniture, but few small decorations to make use of. Sara heaved a metal file cabinet to the ground with a loud clatter and ducked behind the door to wait.

Sara did her job well enough. She had time to snap open her baton while voices were raised down the hall. Eventually, she spotted two goons come up to her room through the crack between the door and the wall. Sara had managed to get even odds for her team, if not for herself. Even worse, the goon in the lead had a gun drawn while the other tapped a crowbar against his leg.

As soon as it was visible around the door, Sara smacked Gun-Guy's wrist, getting him to drop the weapon. Sara ducked forward and kicked the gun into the mess of the room before Crowbar charged her. Crowbar was too close to swing at her properly but he was a big guy and he knocked her into the fallen file cabinet. Then he had plenty of time to swing and Sara barely rolled away from the impact in time.

Gun-Guy joined in then, clutching his wrist to his chest and swinging at her with his foot. He connected solidly with her shoulder and Sara reflexively lashed out and tangled her other arm with his leg, dragging it out from under him. Gun-Guy used his bad arm to catch himself and decided it might be better to stay down on the ground, groaning.

With two of them on the ground in the tiny office, Crowbar didn't have much room to move his feet but he had plenty of room to reach over his friend with his swings. Sara had to quickly scramble around the back of the toppled file cabinet to keep away.

"Damn gymrats," Sara mumbled under her breath as she tucked herself behind the cabinet and threw a stapler at the well-muscled goon.

"If they are a fighting type you should try a psychic attack," Felicity offered absentmindedly as if she were splitting her attention between multiple things. Which she was.

"I'll get right on that, Boss," Sara said dryly.

"I've got you, point your walkie at them," Felicity said.

Sara followed the order. Her walkie crackled and then started to whine shrilly and, more importantly, loudly. Very loudly. Crowbar stumbled back and curled up against the far wall with his hands over his ears. And even Gun-Guy groaned despite being out of the direct line of fire.

"It's super effective," Sara said with surprise when the sound stopped and she got to her feet.

"I upgraded your equipment," Felicity explained as Sara worked the kink out of her arm. "We had the tech from that bank robbery a few months ago."

"I'm sure someone else will try to claim credit as the inspiration." Sara cuffed Gun-Guy's good arm to the file cabinet and Crowbar to a desk, positioning them as comfortably and securely as she could. "And when did you have access to my equipment?" The complete silence that met Sara's question was way more answer than she needed. "You know you are slightly terrifying, Boss?"

"It's been mentioned before," Felicity said, her voice indicating that her attention was divided once more.


	17. Chapter 17

Sara finally made it out of the room to go help the others and almost ran into Nyssa, arrow first. The other woman lowered her bow and grabbed Sara's arm to steady both of them. "You are alright?" Nyssa asked.

"Peachy," Sara replied with a genuine smile. She looked past Nyssa to the other end of the hall. There were more than three (hopefully) unconscious bodies on the floor. Confirming that there had been more guards around the corner. "Where are your people?" Sara asked, not seeing the other two assassins.

"They are scouting the last entryway. Come." The two headed down to the main door. Without speaking, Nyssa covered Sara as she opened it, baton at the ready.

There weren't any guards inside the room. Just a figure tied to a chair facing away from them in the middle where a table should be. It looked like Laurel but Sara rounded the chair carefully until she could be certain. "Amateurs," Sara scoffed as she tucked her baton away, and started untying Laurel's wrist. Tied up or not, Sara would have had more guards outside and double inside the room if Black Siren were her prisoner. Nyssa kept her eyes on the other entryways.

Before Sara got very far, Laurel thumped her head against the chair to get Sara's attention. Laurel's glare and slight twitches of what parts of her face could move were all the indication Sara got for where her priorities should be but she got the message.

"Are you sure? The vocal rest is probably good for you," Sara asked as seriously as she could manage. Laurel's glare turned murderous and Sara removed the mask with a smirk.

"Took you long enough to get here," Laurel said after a moment of working her jaw.

Sara's smart reply was interrupted by the back door, the one Laurel had been facing, being knocked open by a fallen figure. Sara's hand went to her baton before recognizing the aggressor in the doorway as Nyssa's team. She glanced at Nyssa to see her lowering her bow again before a shockwave of sound blasted past Sara and knocked the assassin back out of the door and into the far wall.

Nyssa and Sara were out of the direct path but both had to clap their hands over their ears and duck away. The noise made Sara's makeshift walkie device sound pitiful in comparison and Laurel didn't let up after the initial blast.

The room rattled. The drywall cracked. The assassin was beginning to push though the wall and Sara caught sight of his partner huddled up too. Sara did the only thing she could think of. Turning back to face her sister, Sara kicked Black Siren hard in the shin.

The scream changed to the word "Fuuuu---" then ended. And since Laurel was still tied up she could not return the kick like she used to.

"That is one of ours, stupid," Sara told her as Nyssa and the other assassin uncurled and went to check on their teammate.

"Just get me off this thing. I'll apologize when they can hear it."

Sara finished untying Laurel but her sister was busy watching Nyssa and didn't notice. Sara punched her shoulder lightly to get her attention, than grabbed her in a tight hug. "You are lucky we figured out you were missing, dummy. We need a signal or some rules for this kind of situation, alright?"

"Sure thing," Laurel patted Sara on the back awkwardly before nudging Sara off of her. "Rules For Getting Kidnapped, first thing we'll do after we get out of here."

The other assassin carried her partner off ahead with one last dirty look at Laurel while Nyssa came back into the room. "It is time to go."

"What about Merlyn?" Laurel asked. She started to stand and then sat back down heavily.

Sara grabbed her arm and pulled her to her feet. "Don't really care. We didn't come here for him. Maybe the others will find him. Boss? Can you tell everyone that we have the Little Mermaid?"

Laurel balked at her code name, successfully distracted from the topic of Merlyn. She argued with Sara all the way back to the stairwell over the difference between a mermaid and a siren, continuing the explanation with Nyssa as Sara fell behind to check on the various henchman. Sara knew they had entered the stairwell when she no longer heard Laurel listing historical reference material. The nerd.

All the goons were where they had been left so Sara picked up her pace to catch up with the others. But it wasn't either woman that she ran into on the other side of the door. Thankfully the henchperson had also been focusing on catching up with Sara's friends. Sara recovered first and gave them a shove and a stunning blow with her baton before turning to run down the stairs.

Nyssa and Laurel were far enough down to not have noticed their pursuer. Sara spotted them a across from her just before they disappeared from view to the floor below. She was able to gain a little ground on them before she was brought up short again. It seems that one of their other teams didn't bother to finish clearing their floors because Sara ran into another henchperson exiting a side door the same way Sara had just done.

Not only that but the previous henchperson had recovered and followed Sara down. Sara's path was blocked in both directions and there was no way anyone would be able to help in time. Sara still had her baton as she backed up against the stair railing but she wasn't sure she could handle two opponents again today.

"Hey Ariel!," Sara called down the stairs to her sister somewhere below her. "Trust Fall?"

"No, you lunatic!" the answer came, a little to the left but close enough. Sara threw her baton at the closest goon's face and rolled herself over the railing. She grabbed onto the posts of the railing, planning on sliding down and swinging onto the platform below with a little help from the others.

The reality was Sara's abused arms protesting at the sudden jolt that should have brought her to a stop and letting go without Sara's permission. Sara had a few minutes of free fall to think about her parkour instructor's dry expression when she heard about Sara's stupid cause of death before an iron vice shot out and grabbed her wrist. Sara's body slammed into another floor's railing and her shoulder exploded but she finally jerked to a stop like she had originally intended.

Cursing and screaming a human volume scream, Laurel dragged her over the railing and back onto solid ground. Then she dropped Sara in a heap as she turned to help Nyssa deal with Sara's abandoned assailants as they came down to join the party. For the moment Sara was fine with sitting on the floor and cradling her arm.

When they had finished, Nyssa came back to help Sara to her feet while Laurel crossed her arms and glared. "'Maybe she'll just arrest you,' 'We're better together,'" Laurel ranted mockingly. "I am going to push other-you down a flight of stairs next time I see her." Laurel stretched out her own shoulder but didn't seem to be in any pain. One of those perks that comes with being a metahuman probably. Or simply not being the one who almost fell to their death.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Once again I almost decided to take a scene out because I thought it might be too unrealistic; for a logical person to jump off a staircase. Then, literally three weeks later Gail Simone posted [this](http://gailsimone.tumblr.com/post/172380865280) and reminded me that Canaries are not logical people.


	18. Chapter 18

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> No joke, this story broke the letter 'n' off of my laptop's keyboard. Thanks Nyssa.

The trio had almost reached the ground floor when a more unfortunate trust-faller dropped past them. Looking down, Sara saw that Objective #2 had beaten them to the ground floor. Malcolm Merlyn was dead. Again. Sara looked up quickly to see Robert, Tommy, Oliver, and Thea all looking over a railing near the top. That might explain why the lower floors weren't cleared.

"Green Arrow suggests that our friends from out of town head out before the cleanup," Felicity told Sara. "And we can make plans to meet at their ... hotel later."

Nyssa agreed when Sara passed on the message but insisted on at least getting Sara to the lobby where one of her uniforms could take care of her. Laurel, being potentially more recognizable, made her goodbyes and slipped away. But not before Sara forced a promise out of her to go to Sara's apartment.

The officer Nyssa left Sara with brought her straight to the EMTs with only minor protests from Sara. Apparently she had dislocated her shoulder in the fall and had a pretty nasty bruise forming over her ribs. Meaning she got to spend some quality time at the ambulance while her officers and masks finished clearing the building of Malcolm's people.

After some bandaging and a sling it was time to talk to the press that had managed to catch wind of the sting and gathered outside of the small barricade they had set up. Thankfully that was the easy part. "A joint task force of the Star City Vigilantes and the Star City Police Department discovered a criminal syndicate operating out of this vacant building." Tommy would never manage to sell the place now. "The Arrows, with the help of some visiting masks, have apprehended and disabled the leadership and remanded those present into police custody." No need to mention the hostage situation, Sara would write Laurel in under the vigilante ID protections as a confidential informant. And she could let the police commissioner figure out how to deal with releasing the news about the twice dead Malcolm Merlyn.

Sara fielded the usual questions, ignored the ones about Robert Queen's personal life and the identities of his team, and introduced Star City's newest mask, 'Hermes'. Hermes himself overheard his announcement as he led a goon into a squad car and waved to the reporters, to the photographer's delight.

After everything was clear and her vigilantes had made their getaway, Sara shooed the reporters away. She thanked the officers who were finishing the cleanup (those left waiting until it was clear enough to remove Merlyn's body) and allowed Officer Juarez to drive her home.

"Debrief tomorrow at our friend's hotel," Felicity said through the comm still in Sara's ear.

"Thanks Boss," Sara replied through a yawn. Juarez glanced over at her but didn't ask her any questions. That's why he was her favorite.

Laurel wasn't in Sara's apartment when she got there and Sara had to stamp down the instant worry. Laurel had only promised to come, Sara hadn't specified when. Though, someone had been by to clean up the mess in the kitchen and found a new cup of water for her carnation.

Sara didn't mean to fall asleep but the instant she sat down on the couch to wait, the day caught up with her. She was woken up by a sharp pain in her shoulder.

"This was monumentally stupid, even for you," Laurel said, poking Sara's arm again.

"More stupid than getting kidnapped from a cop's apartment while stealing ice cream?" Sara asked, rubbing the sleep out of her eyes.

"Your apartment is too easy to break into," was Laurel's rebuttal. "And they were after you, not me."

That was a surprise to Sara, "What for?"

"I think Merlyn was going to try to force you to kill your girlfriend." Laurel flopped back onto the other side of the couch. Before Sara could think of a response to that she changed the subject. Laurel tapped her nose and asked, "Did you happen to find my stud?"

Sara's hesitation was hopefully imperceptible, "No. Sorry."

Laurel pouted. "That's a shame, I had already plotted out my next route to draw a picture for the nerd squad."

"You know it's a tracker?"

Laurel looked at Sara mockingly. "Cisco only thinks he's that clever."

"I'll keep an eye out for it," Sara promised, making sure the small bag was still in her pocket.

If Laurel noticed, she didn't give any indication. She was too busy staring into space with a perplexed expression.

"Do you have somewhere to be?" Sara asked. "You didn't ruin all of my ice cream and I'm sure we can find some terrible reality TV to watch." Sara unfolded herself off the couch and headed to the kitchen. She grabbed the ice cream from the back of the fridge and two spoons and returned to her spot. "And you can tell me why all of my nemesi have decided it is better to live among the alligators than in Star City."

"I have no idea what you are talking about," Laurel said haughtily but she accepted the spoon.

They both fell asleep to the Real Housewives of Atlantis, leaving only a little ice cream to melt onto Sara's coffee table.

* * *

Final post-op briefings consisted mainly of everyone giving a verbal report to Sara for her own written report. Usually the stories were identical. This time they were a little too identical. Each of her vigilantes (and Oliver) claimed to be the person who killed Malcolm Merlyn. Sara tried to remind them that Malcolm had tried to destroy the city _and_ was already legally dead so there probably wouldn't even be an inquiry. And if their were an inquiry it would become public record and the public would most definitely be on their side. It didn't stop any of them from sticking to their stories. Laurel even chimed in that she did it too, just to be unhelpful.

The only one that Sara could rule out from this stonewalling was Robert since he was the face of the Vigilante program and would never let the others cover for him. Sara had no choice but to include all four claims in her report, meaning she also had to hastily come up with a code name for Oliver. (Sara chose to stick with Greek mythology and went with Orion since she couldn't be sure if Al Sahim was on any government watchlists.)

"So what are your plans?" Sara asked Nyssa and Oliver after she had finished taking down statements from the last of the League members. Since they had merely supported the apprehension of Merlyn's people they did not need to be covered by the Vigilante agreement or be placed on Sara's roster.

"The Demon's Head will hear the news soon, if he hasn't already. We must return to confirm it for him." Nyssa glanced sidelong at Oliver, the same look she had given him after the movie night, the one offering him a choice. He didn't seem to notice, he had already busied himself with directing assassins around. Nyssa sighed almost imperceptibly and pulled Sara aside like she had just a few days ago. "I am sorry that we were not able to have lunch. I ... wondered if we might reschedule?"

Sara had been expecting the clean-break goodbye and this caught her off guard. "You're going to be back in Star City?" Sara asked after a pause.

Nyssa took her own pause. "I may have business that will bring me into the neighborhood."

Sara cocked her head and squinted suspiciously. It made Nyssa laugh gently and maybe blush. Which was half of Sara's intention and comforting for the other half. "Not that brand of business I promise you."

Sara looked over to the others in the room. Oliver had somehow managed to clear every League member out and was currently talking with the Star City crew in a position that left their backs to Sara and Nyssa. Hopefully Nyssa knew that she had a quality wingman there. She turned back to Nyssa and gave her a half smile. "Call me when you are then and we can set it up." Then Sara grabbed Nyssa's coat's lapel with her good hand and pulled her in for a kiss. It didn't last very long because Sara's own, absolutely terrible wingman eventually started to wolf-whistle and whoop as only a Siren can, drawing everyone else's attention.

Sara, breathing a bit heavily, gave Robert a moment to shush Thea and attempt to shush Laurel before saying, "See you soon."

Nyssa gave Sara a shorter, lighter kiss. "Goodbye, Tahir Saghir." She rejoined Oliver and they left.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Post-post edit to add that I full on just got sad about "my kids" now that this is done and up. These dummys.

**Author's Note:**

> Thanks for reading! And thanks for sticking with me. Hope you liked it!


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